The present invention relates to fuel suitable for internal combustion engines and more particularly relates to a partially synthetic fuel which includes gasoline and which may be used in an automobile engine with minimal resultant pollution.
In recent years, much more effort has been expended in attempting to develop pollution free automobiles and more efficient engines. This has been prompted by the limited supply and increased cost of gasoline derived from petroleum. Effort has also been made to develop suitable synthetic fuels for the automobile. Perhaps, the most recognized synthetic fuel at the present time is the commonly called gasohol. Gasohol is a mixture of gasoline and ethyl alcohol.
In developing new fuels for automobiles, it is highly desirable that the fuels have characteristics similar to conventional gasoline whereby the fuel can be used without major modification of the automobile engine. For example, the new fuel should have combustion characteristics similar to present day gasoline.
The present invention in its most specific applications, provides a new fuel which may have dimethyl ketone, more commonly called acetone (and which may include a sequential, generic, lower numbered hydrocarbon base), as a major component and conventional gasoline as a minor component. The dimethyl ketone may originate from coal, natural gas or petroleum sources and may be obtained from other sources (e.g. the dry distillation of calcium acetate or microbial fermentation).
Dimethyl ketone has been taught for use at low levels in motor fuels. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,106,661 (Savage) teaches use of a composition including eight parts acetone and one part naphthalene by volume but at a level of not over one percent or less than one twenty-fifth of one percent of the petroleum motor fuel. Savage further teaches that tetra ethyl lead is added to the petroleum fuel. U.S. Pat. No. 1,438,823 (Gray) shows a combination of commercial kerosene and acetone for use as fuel for an internal combustion engine. The acetone is described as being present in an amount of 0.5%. Gray states that the kerosene-acetone mixture may be impregnated with a gaseous hydrocarbon of the paraffin series such as methane.